Clinton calls meeting of ambassadors

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called top envoys from U.S. embassies to gather in Washington on Monday for a wide-ranging foreign policy meeting.

Ambassadors from almost all 260 U.S. embassies, consulates and other posts in more than 180 countries are expected to convene at the State Department for what’s being billed as the first meeting of its kind.

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Officials say the meeting will include discussion of foreign policy priorities for 2011, The Associated Press reported, as well as an assessment of the fallout from the release of secret diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. Clinton will meet individually with diplomats working in unstable countries.

The meeting comes as protests continue in Egypt, where longtime President Hosni Mubarak could soon be pushed out of power. On Sunday, Clinton appeared in taped appearances on all five major TV talk shows to discuss what she called the need for “real democracy” in Egypt, while trying to avoid committing to siding with any one party in the conflict.

Clinton returned early Monday from a one-day trip to Haiti, where she met with the country’s presidential candidates. She insisted that though the U.S. government has political differences with Haiti, it will continue to support its rebuilding in the wake of last January’s devastating earthquake.

“We have a deep commitment to the Haitian people,” she said Sunday. “That goes to humanitarian aid, that goes to governance and democracy programs, that will be going to a cholera treatment center.”

The ambassadors hold meetings with their regional bureaus Monday and Tuesday. Clinton is set to address the ambassadors Wednesday about “leading through civilian power,” after a welcome from her chief of staff and counselor, Cheryl Mills. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice will then forecast the year ahead at the United Nations, and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns will do the same for the year ahead in foreign policy.

The ambassadors will also hear from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen on civilian-military operations in the 21st century, and USAID chief Raj Shah will speak on results-based development.

New Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Budget Thomas Nides will discuss the budget for 2011 and beyond.

But on that point, one official questioned why “every ambassador in the world was required to come back to the States for a group of lectures when this could have been done virtually,” noting that almost every ambassador flies business class, so costs could quickly add up.

The diplomatic powwow wraps up Friday, when the ambassadors fly back to their missions.